Creation 1 World view A person s worldview is what they think about these questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? How do I know what is true? Where are we going? Where did we come from? Most people think that we are either created by God or a product of evolution. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 gives the true account of Creation. Is it science, history or belief? If it s science, then it must conform to the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method is when we conduct a science experiment to see if something is true. We have to be able to watch it happening, and do it again. That means it has to be observable and reproducible. Questions and answers Who observed the formation of the Universe? Ans: No one was there. Who can reproduce it? Ans: No one can reproduce it. But we know the One who was there. So we can say that the Genesis account is not science but history. Because God s is reliable, and His word is reliable, we know that it is true history. How would you explain to someone the answers to the four questions on life, from a Christian viewpoint? Creation 2 Science or history? We should not study the Genesis account as Science because it does not follow the principles of the Scientific Method it s not observable or reproducible. No one saw God creating and no one can do what God did. The Creation account is therefore history. But the theory of evolution cannot be studied as science either because it does not conform to the Scientific Method. No one was there to see the beginning of life as evolutionists describe it and no one has ever seen one species developing into other species. No one can reproduce evolution. It s not observable and reproducible. But it s not history either. The Creation account is history, not science. (HIS story) The theory of evolution is neither history nor science because there is no evidence for the theory. The theory of evolution is based on a belief that there is no God. It was invented by those who did not want to believe in a Creator. The Creation account is based on belief in the true God, who is reliable and trustworthy. 1. Why can we say that Genesis is true history? 2. Why is the theory of evolution not science? 3. Why is the theory of evolution not history?
Creation 3 How old is the earth? Who came up with the idea that the earth is millions of years old? Answer: Those who wanted to ignore God and please themselves. If there s no Creator, no God, then there s no such thing as sin and we can do what we like. Evolution states that a living thing was created out of nothing. Then it developed and changed and developed and changed Until we have the living things in our world today. The problem for evolutionists is We don t see living things changing. Their solution Millions of years! If the changes took that long, we wouldn t see them in a human lifetime. 1. What is the motive of evolutionists? 2. What is the theory of evolution? Creation 4 Mutations Evolutions states that: Living things only make changes through genetic mutations. Mutations are mistakes in our genes. Genes are like a recipe within our cells for the makeup of someone, like hair colour or eye colour. But sometimes things go wrong. A person or an animal can be born with something wrong, like a cleft palate. This is a mistake in the genetic code. There is a loss in genetic information, which can be passed on to the next generation. The genetic codes in living things are not getting better. So how could pond scum have developed into something as beautiful as a bird? How could the beautiful animals in our world have developed from mistakes? A featherless rooster developed through a mistake in the genetic code. Without feathers the rooster will fry in the sun and freeze in the cold. This is not an improvement! Mutations only create living things with problems. Where did mutations originate? The Fall. Until the Fall, God s creation was perfect. 1. Write Genesis 1: 31. 2. What are genetic mutations? 3. Living things in God s beautiful world could NOT have been created through mutations? Why not?
Creation 5 How do we know what is true? We must believe the whole Bible, not just parts of it. Genesis 1 is Bible history and does not have an alternative meaning. It is what it is. Mark 5:46-47: But Jesus said, If you believed Moses, (who wrote Genesis) then you would believe Me, but if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? The Word of God is powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, (Hebrews 4:12). The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. (John 16:13) Creation 6 Could God s creation have happened through evolution? Some people say: Couldn t God have created the first living cell and under His supernatural guidance, more complex life developed over millions of years? Problem: This contradicts the Bible God says He created in six 24-hour days. God said His creation was good. If living things evolved over millions of years, there would have been much death and suffering along the way. There would be pain, death, killing, disease, thorns, struggle, suffering and extinction, as the weaker species die out and the fittest survive. This could not be the perfect creation of a good God. Was Adam a real person? If we add up the genealogies in the Bible, starting from Adam, we can calculate the age of the earth - just 6,150 years old. If Adam was not a real person, then his son Cain was not a real person either. And Cain s son was not a real person. And now we have destroyed the history of the Bible, making it into a fairy tale. Where do the fairy-tale characters stop and the actual people start? The answer is, there are no fairy-tale characters. They are all real people. Sin came into the world through one man (Adam) and sin has been defeated by one man (Jesus). This only makes sense if both Adam and Jesus are actual men. (Romans 5:12) 1. Who wrote Genesis? How does this apply to Mark 5:46-47? 2. The historical parts of the Bible do not need interpretation. Explain the meaning of this. Create your own drawing of this one. Underneath, explain why, according to the Bible, the beautiful living things at the top could not have come about after millions of years of death, suffering and disease.
Creation 7 The order of events Order of events according to the Bible: God created a perfect world, with no death, no pain Man sinned and the perfect world was cursed. Jesus came to earth to redeem us from the effects of the Fall. A new heaven and earth, and the perfect creation will one day be restored. Order of events according to evolution: At the beginning of the universe there was only one living organism. The organism evolved into different species, involving millions of years of death and struggle. Finally, man evolved and was born into a world of death and pain. 1. Draw a time line showing the order of events according to the Bible. Include pictures or symbols. 2. Why is the order of events according to evolution incompatible with God s character? Creation 8 What about dinosaurs? Aren t they millions of years old? Dinosaurs were created on day six of creation along with the other land animals. They are just an extinct species. Their bones are falsely dated to support belief in evolution. They lived at the same time as humans. The Bible describes dinosaurs in the book of Job. Job s description of Behemoth and Leviathan are clearly descriptions of dinosaurs. That means Job, or someone in history must have seen one. Look at the monster, Behemoth what strength there is in his body; and what power he has in his muscles! His tail stands up like a cedar his bones are as strong as bronze and his legs are like iron bars. Job 40:15-24 Can you catch Leviathan with a fish hook? Can you fill his side with fishing spears? Touch him once and you ll never try it again no one would dare to stand before him. No one can tear off his outer coat or pierce the armour he wears his back is made of rows of shields fastened together and hard as stone smoke comes out of his nose flames blaze from his mouth and smoke (Job 41:1-34). That sounds like a dinosaur! 1. Did humans and dinosaurs live at the same time? Explain your reasoning. 2. How could Noah have taken dinosaurs on the ark?
Creation 9 The Great Flood Evolutionists have misinterpreted the evidence of the Great Flood. The truth is, fossils were buried quickly in a short space of time, not over millions of years. Evolutionists need long ages to support their theory, so use a base line of millions of years when dating geological specimens and features. The Grand Canyon was not formed over millions of years, but quickly. It was a product of the Great Flood. Radioactive dating methods are a measure of the rate of decay and are used to try and measure how old things are. It is assumed that the rate of decay is consistent, which is false for a start. Radioactive dating only measures thousands of years, not millions, so a baseline of millions of years is formulated, then the extra years added on. The Great Flood accounts for the land forms we see today. What is the meaning of a base line when measuring age of fossils and geological specimens? How were layers formed? Creation 10 Why does it matter what we believe? People believe that the universe is millions of years old because school text books are written this way. TV nature documentaries sound so convincing. Tourist signs tell us about millions of years. Surely all these people can t be wrong? people say. Why does it matter? Self-worth Do we feeling loved, valued and accepted or are we the product of pond scum? (Psalm 139 we are wonderfully made. God knew us before we were born.) Marriage From the beginning of creation God made them male and female (Mark 10:6). Salvation Jesus came to restore the consequences of the Fall, giving us the opportunity to be a child of God. But if we believe in long ages, we can t logically believe in a Fall because there would have been sin and death in the world before man entered the world. Why are we here? If we are a product of evolution, then we are here by chance and there is no real purpose for us. No one is in charge of us and we can do what we like. But if we believe that we were created in God s image, then we know that God has a special plan for us to fulfill on this earth, and we live according to His standards. Where are we going? The Bible not only tells Christians that we will be with God after death, but also that God has a plan for the end of the age. Jesus will come again to establish a new heaven and earth, where once again there will be perfection. How does a belief in evolution affect many aspects of life?